Next to OTTO’s original slice shop at 576 Congress Street in Portland, you’ll find ENZO. The centerpiece of ENZO is its bar — a beautifully carved piece of craftsmanship in mahogany that exudes a sense of history. When you sit at the ENZO bar, you have the feeling that the bar has a million stories to tell.  If bars could talk, this one could tell you some stories.  It was once upon a time at the heart of one of rock’s legendary outposts: The Rathskeller (known lovingly as The Rat), located in Boston’s Kenmore Square.

The Rathskeller, Boston

For those of you unfamiliar with ENZO, it’s complicated. The cozy, beloved room opened in 2010 when the small space next to OTTO became available. At the time, when OTTO existed only as a take-out location, the expansion shared the same kitchen, served the same pizza, but had its own name, its own sign, and its own door. (Still does.) It offered OTTO customers a place to sit and enjoy their pizza with a glass of wine or a glass of craft beer.

Most folks sitting at the bar, however, might be unaware that their elbows are resting where countless rock legends rested theirs, before or after they graced the stage of The Rat.

The next time you visit ENZO, remember that you’re sitting where the following (and countless others) likely sat:

Sonic Youth performing at The Rat

311
7 Seconds
Aerosmith
Agent Orange
Agnostic Front
Aimee Mann
Alex Chilton
At the Gates
B-52s
Babe the Blue Ox
Babes in Toyland
Bad Brains
Beastie Boys
Big Black
Black Flag
Blondie
Bloodhound Gang
Buffalo Tom
Butthole Surfers
Chris Isaak
Dag Nasty
Dead Kennedys
Del Fuegos
Dinosaur Jr

REM at the Rat

DMZ
Dream Syndicate
DRI
Dropkick Murphys
Fishbone
Flipper
Foetus
Galaxie 500
Gang Green
Gang of Four
GG Allin
Geezer Lake
Goo Goo Dolls
Gorilla Biscuits
Henry Rollins

The Cars at The Rat

Hole
Human Sexual Response
Husker Du
Iggy Pop
J Geils Band
Joan Jett
John Cale
Los Lobos
Lou Reed
Lyres
Mazzy Star
MDC
Megadeth
Melvins
Metallica

Aimee Mann at The Rat

Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Minutemen
Misfits
Mission of Burma
Mother Love Bone
Napal Death
Patti Smith
Pixies
Poison
Powerman 5000
Quicksand
Quiet Riot
Ramones
Red Hot Chili Peppers

Talking Heads at The Rat

Redd Kross
REM
Richard Hell
Rick James
Scruffy The Cat
Sick of it All
Sonic Youth
Soul Asylum
Soundgarden
Steve Earle
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Suicide
Talking Heads
The Cars
The Clash
The Cramps

The Jam at The Rat

The Damned
The dB’s
The English Beat
The Fall
The Flaming Lips
The Go-Gos
The Jam
The Lemonheads
The Mr. T Experience
The Neighborhoods
The Plasmatics
The Police
The Queers
The Remains
The Replacements

The Replacements at The Rat

The Runaways
The Smithereens
The Stranglers
The Wipers
Thin Lizzy
Throwing Muses
Til Tuesday
Tiny Tim
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Tool
U2
Volcano Suns
White Zombie
Widespread Panic
Wu-Tang Clan

To learn more about how OTTO acquired the Rat’s bar, click here.